Bargain, 5" Cretaceous Fossil Fish (Nematonotus?) - Lebanon

Bargain, Cretaceous Fossil Fish (Nematonotus?) - Lebanon #250184

This is a fossil fish from the Upper Cretaceous marine deposits near Hjoula, Lebanon. Dozens of species of fish have been described from these deposits, making identification difficult at times. With the dorsal fin missing, it's especially tough to provide an accurate species. However, based on the rest of the fish, a likely candidate is Nematonotus longispinus.

It comes with an acrylic display stand.

There are two repaired cracks through the specimen and the fish is incomplete, hence the reduced price.

The discovery of amazingly preserved marine fossils near Hjoula, Lebanon dates back many centuries. In fact, they were first mentioned in writing by Herodotus, over 450 years before the birth of Christ. The first scientific work on these localities began in the 1800s: these deposits have been meticulously quarried by several Lebanese families for over a century. We purchase our specimens directly from one of these families.

These deposits represent a warm, shallow sea of the Middle Cretaceous, and have yielded over 70 types of fish and numerous other genera found nowhere else in the world. The preservation on many of these specimens is truly amazing: many examples of soft bodied preservation have been found.

A photo of one of the quarries at Hjoula, Lebanon

SPECIES

Nematonotus longispinus?

AGE

Upper Cretaceous (~94 Million Years)